SGI-USA Study Curriculum

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda

A Seeking Attitude Makes Our Lives Shine

Shu ken ga metsu-do. Ko kuyo shari. Gen kai e renbo. Ni sho katsu-go shin. Shujo ki shin-buku. Shichi-jiki i nyunan. Isshin yokken butsu. Fu ji shaku shinmyo. Ji ga gyu shuso. Ku shutsu ryojusen.

When the multitude see that I have passed into extinction,
far and wide they offer alms to my relics.
All harbor thoughts of yearning
and in their minds thirst to gaze at me.
When living beings have become truly faithful,
honest and upright, gentle in intent,
single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha,
not hesitating even if it costs them their lives,
then I and the assembly of monks
appear together on Holy Eagle Peak. (LS16, 229-30)

In working on this lecture, I composed this verse:

Each morning and evening,
reciting the "Hoben"
and "Juryo" chapters,
we luxuriate in
the song of the universe.

Gongyo, in the morning and evening, is a ceremony fusing the microcosm of our own lives in choral melody with the macrocosm of the universe. The sound of the Mystic Law, the sound of voices chanting daimoku, is the song of the universe.

Each morning and evening we immerse ourselves in the symphony of the Mystic Law that resounds throughout the universe. The Buddhas, bodhisattvas and Buddhist gods existing over the three existences and in the ten directions shower us with their praise and protection. With great conviction in this, I hope each of you will lead a thoroughly joyous and cheerful existence. This is my ardent wish.

As I mentioned last time (Feb. 16 World Tribune), we who dedicate ourselves to kosen-rufu are always together with the Buddha. In an age that for many could be called a "lonely hell," we are following an unparalleled path of peace and tranquillity, and of eternal joy.

Moreover, there are now friends, Bodhisattvas of the Earth, in every part of the world. There are comrades everywhere who share our heartfelt aspirations. Truly, we lead the most noble and wonderful lives.

We who dedicate our lives to this unsurpassed path can encounter the noble Buddha at any time and in any place. From the sutra passage we are studying this time, we gain a still deeper understanding of this point.

The Spirit of Yearning for the Buddha

From the Buddha's perspective, nirvana is an expedient means. In truth, the Buddha is always at our sides. People have a hard time grasping this truth. But when the Buddha dies, they develop a seeking spirit for --- they yearn for and thirst to gaze upon --- the Buddha.

Having sought to quell people's worries by saying, "As an expedient means I appear to enter nirvana" (LS 16, 229), and thus revealing the meaning of his death, the Buddha now offers profoundly merciful words.

He says in effect: "After I die, people will make offerings to my relics and thirst to see me. Someone who arouses an earnest seeking mind for the Buddha can meet me without fail. I will appear here on Eagle Peak with many disciples." These words abundantly convey the Buddha's spirit of concern for all those in the world after his passing.

The relationship between a Buddha and his disciples is not limited to a single lifetime. Fundamentally, the mentor-disciple relationship is maintained eternally over the three existences of past, present and future. I am always together with President Toda. This I understand from having struggled as I have.

Although the Buddha is close at hand, we cannot sense our connection with the Buddha if we just idly sit around. This passage of the sutra concretely elucidates the attitude we need to have toward the Buddha.

In the first place, it says "far and wide they offer alms to my relics." This should not be taken as encouragement to make offerings to relics in a literal sense. Rather, it teaches the importance of having a direct connection in faith with the Buddha.

The highest offering to the Buddha is not to worship something reminiscent of the Buddha. Rather, it is to inherit the Buddha's spirit. In other words, the highest offering lies in struggling to manifest --- as one's own spirit --- even a part of the spirit of the Buddha, who upheld the philosophy that everyone is a Buddha and tirelessly strove to save all from suffering.

Shakyamuni's spirit is embodied in the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren Daishonin's spirit is embodied in the Three Great Secret Laws and the great undertaking of kosen-rufu to lead all people to happiness. For us today, "far and wide they offer alms to my relics" means chanting daimoku to the Gohonzon and developing activities for kosen-rufu.

Faith ultimately means wholeheartedly devoting oneself to the Gohonzon and arousing a spirit of yearning for and thirsting to gaze upon the Gohonzon.

In a letter to Myoichi-ama, Nichiren Daishonin writes:
What we call faith is nothing extraordinary. As a woman cherishes her husband, as a man will give his life for his wife, as parents will not abandon their children, or as a child refuses to leave his mother, so should we put our trust in the Lotus Sutra [the Gohonzon]... and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. This is what is meant by faith. (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 5, p. 303)

The love between husband and wife or parent and child is an expression of unadorned humanity, of the pure human heart.

It may be that in the present age even such love has become weak and diluted. No matter how much honor or wealth someone may have, if the person loses touch with human affection he or she becomes miserable. There is no greater anguish.

Myoichi-ama, the recipient of this letter, was a woman who most highly treasured this spirit the Daishonin is talking about. While the circumstances she faced were severe, she possessed immense inner wealth. Moreover, for Myoichi-ama these words of the Daishonin were more than simply metaphor.

Amid the whirlwind of attacks against the Daishonin's followers that accompanied the Tatsunokuchi Persecution and the Sado Exile, Myoichi-ama and her husband steadfastly maintained their faith. They suffered various hardships on account of their faith in the Lotus Sutra, including that of having their fief confiscated. Moreover, Myoichi-ama's husband died before word could reach them of the Daishonin having been pardoned from exile. She also had sick children, and was herself in poor health.

Still, she fought heroically, keeping alive the flame of faith and practicing for both herself and her late husband. While her life was difficult, she sent her own laborers to work for the Daishonin at Sado and at Minobu. She fought hard, with the message of hope she received from the Daishonin sustaining her spirits: "Those who believe in the Lotus Sutra are as if in winter, which never fails to turn into spring" (MW-1, 150).

The Daishonin also wrote her these words of encouragement:
Your husband gave his life for the Lotus Sutra.... Therefore he will certainly receive blessings as great as theirs [Sessen Doji and Bodhisattva Yakuo]. He may be watching his wife and children in the mirrors of the sun and the moon every moment of the day and night. Since you and your children are common mortals, you cannot see or hear him.... But do not doubt that he is close at hand protecting you. (MW-1, 150-51)

What courage and strength these words must have given Myoichi-ama!

The most miserable person deserves to become the happiest. This is Buddhism. This is the Daishonin's spirit.

The Gosho I quoted earlier, which begins with "What we call faith is nothing extraordinary," was sent to Myoichi-ama after she had continued her difficult struggle for as long as seven years without retreating a step.

Myoichi-ama had struggled hard enough for both herself and her late husband, and she had succeeded in splendidly raising her children. The Daishonin encouraged her to pray to the Gohonzon and chant daimoku with the same love and affection she felt toward her deceased husband and toward her children. This, he told her, is faith.

The ultimate meaning of faith is difficult to understand-and yet at the same time quite simple. Put succinctly, it is to maintain a seeking mind toward --- and not to forget --- the Gohonzon, no matter what our circumstances. When we seek the Buddha with an honest and pure spirit --- like that of a child in search of his or her mother calling "Mommy!" or a mother embracing her child --- a palace of indestructible happiness arises in our hearts.

By contrast, someone who has deep doubts, and lives as though behind a smoke screen, will be utterly incapable of connecting in faith with the great life of the Buddha. This is what the jigage teaches. Faith means yearning for and thirsting to see the Buddha. It is to be "honest and upright, gentle in intent"; to be thoroughly honest and gentle in one's spirit toward the Buddha, toward the Gohonzon. We must not have the rigid attitude of those whose hearts are callous and closed.

The Object of Worship of Faith

The sutra passage further indicates the proper attitude we should have in faith where it says "single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha, not hesitating even if it costs them their lives."

This is the attitude of wishing from the bottom of our hearts to see the Buddha, even at the cost of our own lives. When we practice unstintingly with such honest faith, such a seeking mind, the Buddha appears together with his many disciples at Eagle Peak. In other words, we can then see the Buddha at any time.

President Toda once lectured on this passage as follows:
When the Buddha solemnly manifests in our lives, we are undoubtedly free of all misery. In other words, when we worship the Gohonzon --- even though we may not be aware of it --- the Gohonzon appears within us. Our bodies become Eagle Peak. And the power of the Dai-Gohonzon, that is, the power of the Daishonin, fills our lives.

Those who practice with the attitude of "single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha, not hesitating even if it costs them their lives" can definitely attain the state of life indicated by "I and the assembly of monks appear together on Holy Eagle Peak."

These two passages are joined by the word then. What this reveals is that when our hearts are firmly set on "seeing the Buddha," then, at that time, we are unfailingly embraced in the Buddha's immense compassion.

Then here does not mean "eventually" or "in the future." It indicates the attainment of Buddhahood through the principle of "embracing the Law is itself enlightenment." When we stand up with strong faith in the Gohonzon, then --- at that time, at that very instant --- the life of the Buddha wells forth in our own lives. And the place where we are becomes Eagle Peak, the Buddha land, the place where the Buddha dwells.

Nichikan Shonin says:
When one chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with faith in this Gohonzon, one's life immediately becomes the object of worship of ichinen sanzen; it becomes the life of Nichiren Daishonin. (l)

The life of the Gohonzon, the life of Nichiren Daishonin, instantaneously manifests in our lives. There is no greater benefit than this.

Everyone, without exception, possesses in their hearts the supreme hidden treasure of Buddhahood. The "heart of the Lotus Sutra" is found in such equality. And the "heart of the Daishonin" has made it actually possible for all people of the Latter Day of the Law to open the "box" holding this treasure. The key to opening this box is the faith of "single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha" and the practice of "not hesitating even if it costs them their lives." In other words, the basis for attaining enlightenment is a sincere seeking mind and an earnest practice.

However, "not hesitating even if it costs them their lives" naturally does not suggest any devaluation of life. To view life lightly goes against the spirit of the Lotus Sutra. The true meaning of this passage is that we should overcome, without hesitation, the ego that attaches to the lesser self and base our lives instead on the truly dignified and majestic greater self.

The true meaning of "not hesitating even if it costs them their lives" is to struggle to realize one's fullest potential, all the while dwelling in the real, mundane world, steadfastly basing oneself on the Mystic Law.

There is no limit to the extent to which we who uphold faith in the Mystic Law can expand or enrich our lives when we practice with this spirit. Toward this end, it is important in our practice of faith that we not hesitate to forgo the lesser self's demands. The Mystic Law enables us to lead the fullest and most brilliant of lives. The whole point of practicing this Buddhism is to ensure that we never find ourselves deadlocked in misery.

The Gohonzon is a "cluster of benefits"; it contains within it every kind of benefit. Our hearts, our faith, our practice hold the key to the benefit of the entire universe. The true "object of worship for observing one's mind" is the object of worship of faith. Nothing is greater than faith.

Therefore, a person of strong faith and seeking mind shines. The life of such a person itself becomes a jewel. This is the benefit of the Daishonin's Buddhism.

As I have mentioned before, the jigage is a song praising the greater self. You yourself --- your own mind --- opens the object of worship within your life. Therefore, as long as you possess an unshakable mind of faith, you can construct a dignified self and become like a great mountain that no storm can budge.

As the Daishonin says, "Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" (MW-1, 161). True faith, to truly uphold the Mystic Law, means to persevere in our practice in times of both suffering and joy.

Notes:

1. From Nichikan Shonin's Kanjin no honzon sho mondan (Exegesis on "The True Object of Worship").

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